Long Overdue Egypt Pics

We've been back more than 2 weeks. These are way overdue. But the thought of having to resize the pitcures before uploading them put me off. Ha.

Here are some of the pictures. No everyday-diary-like-detailed entries simply cos it's been too long and yes, I'm lazy. If it were a short trip like BKK, I might still do it. Anyway, here we go...

The Pyramids of Giza....extremely picturesque from this angle. Amazing how people in ancient times managed to complete these.

The Sphinx - Man head lion body - the Guardian of the Pyramids.

Sunrise from our room on the cruise by the River Nile....

The Temple of Philae - one of the many temples we visited. It's a little like the Cambodia trip. After a while, temple fatique sets in. You see one and you've seen them all.

Some coloured carvings still left after the thousands of years...

An oasis in the middle of the desert...

and part of the arduous journey through the desert...

Part of our Bedouin dinner under the stars being prepared by the Bedouins (people who live in the desert) - roasted baby lamb and their "pita" like bread. Served with Hibiscus tea.

And one of the most uncomfortable modes of transport ever! A short novelty ride in the city of Aswan was fine. But to take one of these for an hour up Mount Sinai was ass-breaking!


Sunrise and the mountainous view from the peak of Mount Sinai. WE woke up at 1230AM, took the camel for an hour or so, trekked up the remaining way of Mt Sinai, reached the peak at 530 am in the morning just for these!


And then we trekked down another 3 hours or so to the foot of Mt Sinai to visit the monastery of St Catherine where we saw the site of the trsnsfiguration.

Back from Mummyland!!!

Finally, we're done with zucchinis, tomatoes, beef / chicken / mutton prepared with the same sauces and herbs, salty soup and back to the land of char kway teow and mee pok.

We're also glad to be far away sand, mountains and stones galore!

And for me, I'm sure I'm rid of the "lau-sai" I've been having in Egypt.

Actually, it's wasn't too bad a trip - one of those places you must visit in your lifetime. I'll be posting pictures soon. For now, it's back to sleep. I'm still jetlagged.

Legally, Officially....

As of today, I have legally and officially become Mrs RT.

Which explains the lack of entries for such a long time...I've been busy with all the wedding preparations.

So now, I enter a new phase in my life. I'm sure it'd be wonderful. :)

Wasted Time

Bloody sheet.

Nadal lost to that goat-looking fella. I'm wondering what he's got to prove by flexing his muscles when he wins a game/set. Scrawny like hell.

I should have just slept right through the night.

Damn.

For once in a long long while, I'm hoping Federer wins.

Why Cannot Hunt?

We were on our way to work this morning and it being a Monday morning, we were naturally hit with 'sian-ness'.

Purples: Damn sian hor, Monday?

RT: Ya. Tell me about it.

This was followed by a pause, and then he continued...

RT: Actually what's wrong with hunting for food ah? Why must work?

Purples: Hunt? Singapore got place for you to hunt meh?

RT: That's why la. Why they go and clear all the jungles and kampongs? Advancement very good meh?

Purples: Actually, hunt also quite fun la. But how come we cannot eat elephants ah?

RT: Hard to catch la.

Purples: Hard to catch meh? They so slow.

RT: No la. I think the meat not nice to eat. Very tough. But hor, hunt one elephant already can eat for the whole year.

Purples: Ya, but in those kampong conditions, you will have no fridge to store the meat.

RT: Hmmmm. True.

See what Mondays do to your brain? Total rubbish Monday morning conversation.

Cheongsam Galore!

We finally met up on Sunday after many failed attempts to do so. BFC, Shades of Pink and I.

They came over to my place to see the new room. BFC brought along 3 cheongsams made in Shanghai for me to use as a teadress, because I mentioned that the bridal shop had really cheena obiang teadresses which I would not be caught dead in!

BFC: Ok, you try. I can't wear them anymore.

Purples: You cannot then you think I can ah? Siao

BFC: You just try first la. I think you can. Cannot fit then don't squeeze la. Don't split my cheongsam.

So I tried one on and it fit. Surprisingly. So I asked BFC to try one on and show me why she says she can't fit into it. She actually could la. Then she said, "Eh since we're at it, why don't we get Shades of Pink to wear the last cheongsam, then we take a picture together?"

And that was what we did. We interrupted RT from his soccer match to take a pic for us. (You should have seen the "what are you girls doing?" look on his face)

13 years ago, we did silly things like that. Now, 13 years later, we're still doing rubbish things. Sheesh.

But it's quite fun you know. Babes, we can share clothes!!!

Shades of Pink, we ALL need to unzip AND unbutton the cheongsam before it can come off. Nothing to do with you being fat (which you're not). I can't believe you tried to remove it with the buttons on!

Can You Give Her A Home?

Just about 2 hours ago, while leaving for home from Kayestercan's place, my cousin WT found a labrador rummaging through Kayestercan's trashcan. Her mum scolded the dog and it sheepishly crouched down with its face between its paws. The scolding immediately became, "Aiyoh, so cute!" Believe me, she was really cute. And she was lost.

RT, WT, Kayestercan and I gave it some food and water and brought it around the estate, hoping to find its owner. But it was in vain. I called the SPCA (I don't really have a lot of faith in them, but I didn't have much choice) and they told me that I could take the dog down to the pound if I liked. "But we don't reveal the fate of the dog", the guy told me over the phone. "So once you send it over, we have the liberty to do what we deem fit".

RT and I were about to send the dog over when we spotted a police patrol car. We enquired if they could assist with the lost dog. So they called their supervisor and in less than 5 minutes, we had another patrol car arriving and 6 policemen fussing over the dog. (Nice to know that there is still some compassion for animals). They called the SPCA and they agreed to send someone over to pick up the dog. (Now I'm wondering how it is that when I called, I had to bring the dog over? Hmmm). But never mind, my concern was that the dog gets fed and has somewhere to put up for the night.

We waited for the SPCA guys to come, which they eventually did after about 25 minutes. Like the said, they will not reveal the fate of the dog, so I sure hope that SPCA at least puts in some effort in keeping her alive till she finds a good home. Apart from some huge ticks (which I've removed) and a few sores which it probably got from sleeping in the open for the time she was lost, she looks like she's in tip-top condition. She even listens to commands like "Sit" and "Come". You don't even need a leash to take her for walks; she follows alongside you.

She was found around Dalvey / White House Park estate. She even has a collar so I'm sure she belongs to someone. So if you know anyone who's lost a labrador in that area, do get them to pick her up from SPCA. Or if you know of someone who wishes to adopt a Labrador and can care for it, do let them know of this one that's just gone to the SPCA ok? I leave you with some pictures of her.

Here's a picture of her collar. It says "Bucklebone" on the bone-shaped clasp. Will the owner please come for her? I sure hope she wasn't abandoned. So if she was lost, at least call the SPCA or something to TRY and look for her right?

Oh and if you go to SPCA and can't find her, let me know. I will personally call them to demand an explanation. I mean, the dog looks to be in perfect health. The least they could do is put it up for adoption right?

I just spoke to a friend and when I mentioed that she's in SPCA, he went, "Oops. There goes the dog." I hope there's no truth in that statement.

I Don't Believe You Guys

This post is addressed to my friends who left my place just over an hour ago. And of course my mother dearest, without whom, I wouldn't have been able to sleep a wink last night.

Giao Guis you know, you all. How can play FIVE rounds of mahjong from 9pm till 6am??? And I know Ms Overbleached has another session tomorrow right? Tsk tsk.

The Photoshoot...

....left me tired and with rashes on my thighs!

We started the session at 9am and were done by 5pm, which, according to the photographer, is quite early. Apparently, couples usually end at about 7 or 8pm. The studio shots lasted about 3 hours and then we were off to Labrador Park and Alexandra, where I got my rash.

A big thank you goes out to my aunts, cousins and mum, who came down to help out. From getting the flowers (early in the morning) for my hair to deciding which accesories should go on my head. See the red flowers with the kua? They thought it would be too much red with the outfit, but I thought it would be quite pretty. So they left the Ah Huay in me to decide. Turned out quite well what, no? Was a bit worried about the Ah Lian copper coloured streak in the hair, but it came out quite alright after the hairdo.

Thanks for the jewellery too - gifts from my aunts and grandmother - which probably left me looking more elegant than if I had opted for the bridal studio's accesories.

The whole day was tiring, but quite fun. And I'm sure when we see the photos, it'll be worth it. I just hope we can stick to the 40 pictures our package entitles us to.

Secret Recipes

One of the things my Mama was remembered for must be her cooking skills. To some, it was her Ngoh Hiang or Buah Keluak. To others, it was the Achar or Fish Maw Soup. Then there were also the desserts like Kueh Salat and Kueh Kosui.

Sewing was the other thing Mama was good at. From sewing pyjamas and knitting baby booties from scratch to altering our school uniforms and clothes, Mama could do them all.

Having lived with her for 30 years, I have, very sadly, not picked up any of these skills.

Fortunately for all of us, my mother had taken down some of the above-mentioned recipes over the past years. I leave you with pictures of the family members scrambling to copy and trying to decipher their favourite recipes from my mother's hand-written scribbles, which sometimes had post edits. And only because Mama's instructions were always, "A bit of sugar" or "Some corn flour". There was never a certain fixed quantity. Which is probably why her food tasted so good....she played by taste. :)

An Unfamiliar Quiet

I woke up this morning to the unfamiliar sound of total quietness. There was no shuffling of feet, no teaspoon stirring against the coffee cup, no gush of water from the toilet tap from the room just next to mine and no one asking me if I was going to be back for dinner just before I left for work. There was no one for me to argue with over how she handled the dog, and no one for me to tell off for leaving taps and switches on.

In fact, the days have been like this since 12 July, when Mama, my paternal grandmother passed away on 11 July. It hit me how much I had taken these simple things for granted. And it dawned on me that I should always remember to be a little nicer to people dear to me. Less impatient, more understanding, more tolerant, more loving. But human as we are, apart from the "what-if" questions we will never have answers to, we also tend to live with the "If-only-I-had......" statements. Honestly, we should all live like today's the last - live life doing things that would not render us living in the "if-only-I-had..." mode.

Nonetheless, my Mama had lived a long and meaningful 84 years. The most beautiful gift she left us must be our extremely close-knit extended family, comprising 7 of her children, 10 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

Mama's tone of voice and actions sometimes leave you annoyed, frustrated and wanting to argue back (which I did, many a time), but deep down in her heart, there was always love and good intention. And vice versa, the way we sometimes spoke to her. This, I saw in my own relationship with her, as well as in the one she had with my father.

My only regret is that she did not stay long enough with us to be at Kayestercan's and my wedding, which I know she was so looking forward to. But I know she will be there with us in spirit.

Mama, till we meet again, know that you were truly loved by all of us and will continue to be in our hearts, thoughts and prayers.

Woohoo Again.

Remember the last time I "woohoo-ed"?

It's for the same reason. Sharapova out of Wimbledon in second round. SECOND round leh.

Age Setting In

All we did was meet up for dinner and coffee till 10pm on Tuesday, and I could hardly keep awake the next day.

And it wasn't just me. Alienhead and Ms Overbleached felt it too. So we have decided that we should only meet up on Friday nights and weekends when brain cells are not needed to function the next day.

It was fun reliving our uni days over dinner, with topics ranging from who-dated-who to who-works-where to who-looked-like-what. It was quite funny how Ms Overbleached and I unanimously agreed on a certain slutty looking being the moment Alienhead went, "Oh, remember XXXX?".

It was hilarious. Except that we couldn't quite remember some names, which led to Alienhead randomly spewing some names out. Like who the hell is Caixia???? And Ms Overbleached, do note that changing people's name, even the slightest bit, can result in gender difference hor.

We realised that the 3 of us have never met for a meal, other than those in the NTU canteen. Despite that, it took quite a bit of persausion getting Ms Overbleached out. Eh, next time just cancel whatever plans you have la. Go out with us fun right? Get to see people walk right into wrong shop some more. Just don't laugh so much. Maybe it was all the laughing that tired us out. And age la.

Woohoo!

Sharapova is out!!! Didn't even make it to the quarter finals!! I so love Safina. Heh.

I'm gonna be uber tired tomorrow at work, but believe me, staying up to witness her knock out was worth it!

And I know at least one other person who shares my joy. Ms Overbleached.

Having said that, I'm sure there are a gazillion people who stayed up and were uber disappointed. :p

Awake At 530 AM....

I set the alarm for 230am but didn't manage to wake up.

So the father woke me up at 530. "Penalty shootout!", he called.

So I woke up at 530am to witness Chelsea lose to Man U in penalty shootout.

And I thought it was a sure win for Chelsea when Terry took the shot.

Sigh.

But I sure am glad that cocky fella missed his shot. :)))

Being 13's Better.

After a long while of not cycling, I decided to head down to East Coast for a ride with Mr Celica. As I had expected, after the long hiatus, the tyres of my bike needed some air, particularly the back one. So I detoured to the petrol kiosk to get it pumped. I pumped it the way I normally did, but somehow, today, it didn't quite work. The more I pumped, the flatter it got! The last time this happened, the tube had spoilt and needed changing. I called Mr Celica to tell him that there was no way I was gonna make it to the beach already. But if I could get it fixed on time, I'd give him a call.

With the flat tyre, I wheeled my bike to the nearest bike shop, which was a specialist bike shop specialising in Canondale bikes. I had no idea if it was a tubing problem. Honestly, if it were, I doubted that the eight bucks I had on me would suffice at the Canondale shop anyway. Mr Celica said to call him if eighteen bucks was enough, cos he had ten on him. haha :)

So, I parked my not-so-high-end bike outside the very high-end Canondale shop and peeked in. There was what I guessed, the usual group of regulars fixing up their bikes and adding stuff to their bikes. The minute I opened the door, 4 heads turned my way, and a voice went, "Yes?"

Purples: "Erm, I think I need some help with my tyres. It's perpetually flat."

Shop Guy: "Oh, you need to pump is it?"

Purples: "Oh no no. Actually, I tried pumping it at the petrol kiosk but it didn't work. I think it might be the tube."

Shop Guy: "Oh ok, I get someone to help you."

So this lady comes out with a pump (a very high tech looking one), and tried pumping air into the flat tyre.

And you know what? It worked. :s

I swear I must have looked like a total bimbo.

Shop Lady: "Ok, it works what."

Purples: "Yea, it does hor. But it really didn't work just now when I tried pumping it at the gas station."

Shop Lady: "Hmmm. Never mind, we wait a while and see if it goes flat."

I didn't think it would la, but I waited anyway. And as expected, it was still rock hard after 10 minutes.

Shop Lady: "I think it should be ok already."

Purples: "Ya I think so too. Funny why I couldn't pump it up just now. Do I need to pay you for it?"

Shop Lady: "No la, it's ok."

I thanked her and quickly made my way away from the shop. Embarrassed enough already. At that point, I really wished I were 13 and not 30. I probably still would have gotten away with not being able to pump a bicycle tyre and thinking people charge for pumping a tyre.

Things I Learned...

Little Ghost was back. And since she doesn't come back that often, we met up on Tuesday night for drinks. And I learnt a few things....

1) No one ever arrives at the scheduled time

Did a run with Shades of Pink before heading down to Timbre (this has somehow become the new meeting place). We were supposed to meet at 9. But at 850, we were just heading to pick up BFC. So we rescheduled to 915. But at 915, we were only just picking up Mr Celica from his place. We eventually got there at about 930. Little Ghost messaged to say she'd be arriving only at about 10. She eventually arrived with her friend at 1030. My friends are the rubber time champs.

2) Excessive laughter is not good

Can't really remember what topic Alien Head (on the phone) and Shades of Pink (driving) were on, but it got me into a laughing fit, causing one side of my contacts to come out. Tsk. It wasn't easy getting it back in.

3) Black beverage does not equal to Guinness Stout

This one got me into the second laughing fit. Shades of Pink and I were checking the bill. So she checked against the bill, looked at Little Ghost's friend's drink and muttered. "Eh that one drink what ah? Er....Guiness Stout ah?" Then Little Ghost asked Mr Celica what the joke was. "Dunno", he said, "They just say Guinness Guinness then they laugh."
Ok, you've got to witness the whole scenario to understand why it was funny. Or maybe it's just me la.

4) My friends and I have weird dreams.

Believe me, they are really weird. :)

The Potential Sin Po Po Bride

After some postponements, I finally made the appointment to select my gowns. My entourage comprised my mum, 2 of my aunts and my 3 year old niece. And just in case you're wondering why I had so many people present, it was to prevent the "Ah-lian" in me from surfacing, which could potentially turn the wedding into a nightclub performance. Of course, RT was there too, and I think he was greatly relieved that I had my aunts and mom involved in the decision making process. To the niece, every piece was "Eeee, so ugly la!"

I eventually settled for a gown that had everyone's concensus. I liked it, but I couldn't understand why everyone didn't like the other two I'd shortlisted - one had an extremely pretty sequinned bodice, but with too many roses on the lower half that resembled unsightly patches (which i quite liked actually); the other had a simple plain bodice with a poofed up ken ken skirt that resembled a tiered cake or a concert curtain (I quite like the curtain effect). "Cannot la, like Barbie doll's clothes", "Like those Sin Po Po outfits you know" were some of the comments.

Nonetheless, after 2 hours of trying various gowns, I decided on the bridal gown and the evening gown. And it felt like I'd gotten a major part of the preparations done. But it just feels like it, cos I know there's still a whole lot more things that need to be done.

To Dr Lee who couldn't make it today, they didn't allow me to take pictures...

Premonitions

So because of a dream last night, Sylvester thinks that there is a certain element of accuracy in my premonitions. Here's how part of our conversation via msn went:

Syl: How about you gimme a 4D number then we go buy. We share $1 each ok?

Purples: Ok....how about XXXX?

Syl: Ok! I go buy tomorrow.

Purples: $2 big. How about we roll?

Syl: That's 24 permutations. $48.

Purples: Ok, so that makes it $24 each

So with a little bit of luck, combined with my premonition, we might just get lucky tomorrow.

I've Got Mail!

Fridays are always something to look forward to, simply because it's followed by the much awaited weekend. But it gets even better when you receive a surprise gift to top it off.

At least, that was how my Friday was. Check out what came in the mail today!

And inside the pretty pink gift bag were these...

... and a letter enclosed with the gift. I must be one of the lucky few to receive this package containing two of Johnson's newly launched adult body care range products - "24 Hour Lasting Moisture Body Wash" and "24 Hour Lasting Moisture Body Lotion".

As a kid at bath time, despite having a range of shampoos available in the bathroom, I was specifically told to use Johnson's Baby Shampoo, simply because it wouldn't sting my eyes. And if you remember the packaging, there is a tear drop shape on the transparent bottle which reads "No more tears". Then there is also Johnson's Baby Powder, which I actually still use today, despite already being an adult. :p

Anyways, as what most people usually do when choosing a particular shampoo, body wash, or body lotion, I took a whiff from the 2 bottles. I figure I'm gonna be smelling of peaches & cream, rose and strawberry in the coming few weeks! Nice!

Thanks! Johnson & Johnson for the really sweet thought. It's really timely too. Come next week during the makeover and photo shoot with the other 2 witches (BFC and Shades of Pink), I'll have wonderfully scented, smooth, moisturized and glowing skin.

While I'm using Johnson's 24 Hour Lasting Moisture range, perhaps I should suggest the other two new adult body care ranges to BFC and Shades of Pink before the makeover and photo shoot sesh...

- "Johnson's Melt Away Stress" range for Shades of Pink who is constantly up to her neck with her work

- "Johnson's Naturally White" range for BFC who prefers a fair skintone to a tanned one. Remember how you went to the zoo in a long sleeved shirt, long skirt, a hat AND an unbrella??? No need already!!! heh.

The Mahjong Exhibit

Now, make a guess.....why was the fence placed around the chair?

1) To keep the dogs away from the chair

2) To keep the kids away from the chair

3) To prevent the person from falling when using the chair to stack the boxes

4) To prevent visitors of the chair exhibit from touching the chair

5) Others?

(scroll down for answer)

Mother Giao Gui, Alien Head and I had a majong sesh over the weekend at Birdkeeper's. We had a new kaki - Ms Overbleached, whom we had not seen in years. She was still the same old Ms Overbleached, with her witty-bimbotic-bitchy comments and antics.

And the fence was to keep the dogs away from her. Or at least she thought the fence could protect her from the dogs. Ms Overbleached, I really doubt so you know. The fence is like 1 metre high. The dogs, Weimaraners, are at least 2 metres when they stand up lor. You so cute leh.

Anyhow, it was great to see you again after such a long while!

The Bintan Chronicles - Day 2

Woke up at 4am to catch the finals between Djokovic and Fish. Disappointing. Wanted Fish to win. By the time the match ended, RT was awake and I couldn't go back to sleep. So we headed to the coffee house for breakfast.

We had planned to kayak, so we headed to Nirwana Beach Club to rent the kayak. And along the way, we saw these... which we really didn't expect to see.





Think we were a bit too early cos there was no one at the counter and the beach was quite deserted. Then when the counter opened, the waves looked pretty scary. RT tested it and said it was actually ok. So we hired a double kayak and headed out. By then there were a couple of people kayaking and some people in the waters, catching the waves or snorkelling.

It started pretty ok until about half an hour later, when the waves got bigger. RT saw one coming towards us and went, "Orh, this one sure die...". But we were ok. Apparently we were riding the wave, so it was ok. Then another big one came and RT went, "Uh-oh...this one sure die one." His comment didn't bother me, since we overcame the first one, and RT being a dragon boater should have known how to control the kayak right?

But this time, the kayak did flip. And I got this...

And he still could look at the bruise later and say, "How come you can fall down until like that ah?"

How I know la??

We decided to stop kayaking and joined the other people catching waves in the sea. And it was quite fun, really. Not a good idea to don a bikini and ride such huge waves. But it was quite amusing watching the ladies pulling their bikinis in place after going through a wave!! After that, we baked for a while by the beach and hotel pool. But the sun got too hot so I decided to laze in a hammock...

The last time I did this was years back (like more than 10 years?). My cousin, Kayestercan and I got onto the hammock at my aunt's place. And it broke. This time it took my weight, but I bet I must have looked like a big fish caught in a net.

By the time we got back to the hotel, we were so tired we slept from 2pm till 7pm! Then we headed to the poolside cafe for dinner. Pizza and burger.

Remember I said that there really isn't much to do in Bintan? We had another half a day tomorrow, and we figured we were gonna be bored to death, so we changed our ferry ticket for an earlier scheduled one. And remember I said that things are quite costly in Bintan? We had to pay for changing the tickets! But we did so anyway.

For tonight, thank goodness for the availability of Cable TV and Channel U (for the Korean golfer show) and Channel 8 (the water vat show), we didn't die of boredom.

The Bintan Chronicles -Day 1

I've never really fancied a Bintan holiday, cos there really isn't much to do and everything's costly. So since Diners Club offered RT a pretty attractive birthday package for a 3D2N stay, we decided to go.

Leaving on a Sunday for Bintan was not such a bad idea afterall. By the looks of the crowd at the ferry terminal, we weren't heading for a mini Singapore. Most of the crowd comprised Caucasians (not surprisingly, considering the affinity between 'ang mos' and the beach), Japanese and Koreans.

We arrived at Nirwana Gardens Resort, checked in by 3pm and decided to head off to Pasar Oleh Oleh. Had a two-hour massage and scrub at a mere $40. And the scrub was shiokeroos! Like RT said, it probably scrubbed off three decades of accumulated dirt. haha.

Dinner followed after massage...




Silver fish fried rice, tom yam soup, sambal sotong and gong gong, with a coconut and aloe vera shake. The gong gong's really good!!!

The last time I was at Pasar Oleh Oleh, I thought it was too touristy and the prices of things were pretty steep. Today, however, the prices were pretty reasonable. The place was pretty dead and almost everything was going at 50%. Maybe cos it was a Sunday. Perhaps if I come back tomorrow, they will be at 70% off...

Anyways, the restaurant sent us back cos we were the last to leave the place, and it didn't make sense for the shuttle bus (which we paid $6 each for. Told you everything also gotta pay!) to come back at 10pm just for us. So the driver got the restaurant to send us back, which was what one of their staff agreed to do if we spent $36 and above.

Part of the Diner's package included a birthday cake and a gift, so, here they are....

So much cream right?

SYT vs TOW

As s guy, which would you choose? The Sweet Young Thing (SYT) or The Older Woman (TOW)?

My guess was that most guys would go for the SYT. But I was quite wrong.

Anyway, in the midst of discussing this topic with Char Siew Pow she had really hilarious analogies...

Purples: So if you were a guy, which would you choose? The SYT or TOW?

Char Siew Pow: So its SYT vs classy and sphisticated right? It's like choosing between a Suzuki Swift and a Beemer.

Purples: I guess. Ok you are like late 20s and the SWT is like 16.

Char Siew Pow: That's quite sick.

Purples: But SYT more fun what?

Char Siew Pow: But it's like choosing between a fizzy drink and wine!

I Can Run, But I Cannot Hide.

Because I have hit a certain decade of my life, and the need for an identity card update was necessary, I realised that we do have certain bodies which are pretty efficient. No long waiting time. No snaking queues. No directing me from one department to another and answering the same question upteen times.

The crowd there scared me, but ten minutes was all it took to collect my new identity card. Wonderful isn't it? Especially when I was prepared to spend my whole lunch hour waiting for it.

I was asked to provide thumbprints (for BOTH thumbs), sign on three places on a form, questioned about my highest education level (why ah?) and voila! I had my new identity card.

So if I ever commit a crime and become a fugitive, they have all my particulars. Right down to the detailed fact that I am a degree holder, but not with an honours. No running away.

So tell me, with all the efficiency and detailed information on a person, why is Mr Selamat still at large?

Conversations of a Convent Girl and a China Girl

Shades of Pink and I decided to go blading this evening before meeting BFC for dinner.

This is the kind of conversation that takes place between a convent girl (BFC) and a china girl (the waitress)....

BFC: We'll have the chicken curry, and...

Waitress: Qing de? (green one?)

BFC: No. Red.

Waitress: Curry qing de? (green curry)

BFC: Red. Red. (nudges me and goes, "eh red how to say?")

Purples: Hong. Hong de curry.



We decided to have dessert and BFC beckoned to the waitress to ask for the dessert of the day.

BFC: Xiao jie, jing tian de tian pin shi shen me? (What's the dessert of the day?)

Waitress: Yu ni.

BFC looks at Shade of Pink and I and we go, : ORH NI.

BFC: Oh. ok.

And so we had orh ni for dessert.

I'm just wondering what BFC thought "yu ni" was. Some kind of Indonesian cake?

Oh ya! Thanks for the present babes.

Happy Commercialised Love Day

So today must be the most lucrative, money-making day for chocolatiers and florists, just to name a few.

February 14th used to be a rather big and exciting thing when I was, what, 16? 17? 18?

Today, it passed just like any other day. Any normal working day.

Then I stepped out of the office, and was greeted by the 16, 17, 18-year olds - their hands filled with overpriced roses, chocolates, balloons and stuffed toys, and their hearts and minds filled (psychologically, I believe) with more love than Feb 13 or tomorrow. Hmm. Was it just me? Or does this cynicism come with age? I checked with my friends whose ages fall within the same decade of mine. What's normal from this age group of people is "Why waste money on flowers?" or "Why waste money on a lavish dinner?" or "It's just commercialisation la". Phew! So I'm quite normal.

In any case, I called back the office and asked my colleague, Ah Muay, if anyone had sent me flowers. "Huh? Not yet. You wait long long la" she said.

Then in the late afternoon, my other colleague, Amoy called to say that I had received a love letter from a secret admirer.

"Quick come back and see la. See who sent it." Amoy said.

"You must be the one la! You and Ah Muay. After I call to ask about the flowers right?" I replied.

So anyway, here's my Valentine's Day love letter that was waiting for me at the office....

Compliments of Ah Muay and Amoy.

Liking What You Do

I recently received updates via email from TLG over in UK. Updates which included matters of the heart and his career. With respect to the latter, he mentioned taking a course in acupuncture, having been quite into orthopaedic ops, and having done or helped in 1 external fixator and 1 plating of broken legs, whatever that is. In case you're wondering, TLG's a vet. And more importantly, he's enjoying it.

How many of us can actually proclaim to like our jobs, enjoy what we're doing, and look forward to going to work every single day?

My guess is that, to most of us, the job is simply a means of making a living.

But I'm sure many of us have a dream job, or rather something that we know or think we'd enjoy doing. Like setting up a bakery, teaching, painting, acting, dog-walking, baby-sitting, and the list goes on. One of the factors that holds us back from actually taking that step and pursuing it is its feasibility in terms of the financial returns. That thing that we (think) we might enjoy doing somehow will not pay as much.

I was discussing this with a friend and his reply (via sms) went like this: U get paid to get more shit, fact of life. U have to decide. My take is there's always shit everywhere so might as well go for more $ cos once u get used to the shit, it's not so bad or much. :)

Very practical. The typical 'there's-always-a-trade-off' theory.

Of course, there will be the handful who decide to just 'heck-the-money-and-do-what-i-like'. Kudos to you. For me, for now at least, I'll start trying to get used to the shit. As the chinese saying goes, "Xi guan chen zi ran" (Once you get used to it, it becomes a norm).

Or maybe what I think I might enjoy doing may not be that enjoyable once I eventually embark on it. Like how they say the grass is always greener on the other side.

The Dogs and the Rat

So this is how my dogs play with my new pet.

Honestly, I think they're just waiting to pounce on her.

The Big Shoe Clean up

Under the mother's constant bugging to discard the old shoes and clear the shoe cupboard, I finally got down to doing it over the weekend.

Here's what part of my shoe collection (the bulk of them that fits into the rack) looks like now, after I threw out more than 10 pairs of shoes.

It looks like a lot, but it really isn't actually. I still have problems finding a pair of shoe to wear every time I go out.

Now I need to work on the wardrobe.